Ballet and body conditioning
By Anup
Deb Nath
BALLET is one of the popular dance
forms in the West and forms a part of many school
curricula. This form of dancing originated in France
during the reign of Louis XIV and the word
bal means a ball or a dance. Ballet means a
little dance.
Michael Baryshnikov and
Rudolph Nureyev are ballet dancers who have made a name
for themselves. Defined as "a form of theatrical
entertainment, ballet has been contained within a strict
academic school, marrying dance to the various talents of
music and design. Ballet classes always start at the barre,
which supports the balance of the body while it completes
various routines designed to increase strength and
mobility and turnout (a rotation of the
entire leg outwards from the hip joint, giving the
distinctive classical line associated with ballet and
enabling the body to balance more efficiently.)
To take it up as a career
you must start learning ballet at a young age of 8 or 9,
but to just start learning it as a form of exercise as
well as pleasure you could start much later. Ballet has
many benefits but it requires you as a person to give it
a lot as well. This form of dancing develops a heightened
sense of grace and fluidity as well as a very correct
alignment of the body. After some years of dedicated hard
work, you not only learn and enjoy dancing but strengthen
as well as alter your body shape.
Many people who do not
learn ballet, do their barre exercises as a part
of their own routine. Plie, is a French term which
means to bend. Plies are performed as they give
pliancy and suppleness to the legs as well warm and tone
up the muscles and joints. These also help prepare the
body for further work and in the long run are aimed at
helping ballet dancers perform the jumps they do so
gracefully and effortlessly.
Another ballet exercise
that has been incorporated into many regular exercise
routines is the port de bras. This is a warm-up
exercise that increases the flexibility of the spine,
thighs and hamstrings, while the battlements en cloche
en attitude (leg swings with a bent knee) help in
loosening the hip and knee joints.
Another very popular form
of exercise or dance, whichever way you want to look at
it, is what they call body conditioning, or dancercise;
Simply put, these are vigorous exercises which are
designed to strengthen and stretch the body without
actually doing dance steps. This routine is a combination
of many different exercise and dance forms. A little bit
of jazz, a few exercises of ballet, a few steps of modern
dance as well as aerobics and callisthenics are all put
together in this type of exercise. Each teacher has his
or her own unique style and combination and could mix any
of the exercise types he desires, to get the body toned
and fit.
The benefits of this style
of dance is that it is ideal for any age group and is an
excellent way to get your body into shape and prepare it
for any other dance you might want to learn later on.
Even if you are really no good at dance and feel that you
are blessed with two left feet, again this form of dance
is ideal for you, as it gets you more in touch with
music, rhythm and your bodys movements.
While it may not make a
Fred Astaire out of you, it would certainly give you some
measure of grace, rhythm and coordination while on the
dance floor and all the while you would lose weight and
tone up your body as well. Easy to pick up and fun to get
involved in, dancercise, or body conditioning
classes, are very popular in the West.
Just as during exercise
you have to keep certain tips in mind, dancers have a few
pointers to give aspirants to the field. Firstly, be
dedicated and make sure that you do not miss a single day
of you practice, if possible. Secondly, remember that
miracles are not going to happen overnight and you are
going to have to give yourself a minimum of 3-4 months to
really see or feel any major benefits.
During exercise be sure to
drink enough water. Not only does your body lose water
when you sweat, it also loses moisture every time you
exhale. Remember to sip your water before exercising
rather than gulping it down. Just one glass should
suffice, as too much water can bloat your stomach and
make breathing uncomfortable by pressing the stomach
against the diaphragm.
Meals that are high in
carbohydrates are usually a dancers beast bet
before exercising. Carbohydrates are quickly converted by
the body into glucose which gives your body immediate
energy, while food that is high in protein or fat makes
your stomach work harder to digest it and thereby gives
you less instant energy when you need it.
Dancing your way to a
healthier and more toned body certainly sounds like fun
and easy to do as well. Well, thats not quite true.
Dancing, if taken seriously on its own, is no easy feat.
It means years of dedicated training and serious ballet
dancers dont miss a days practice or class
while they are in their formative years as a dancer. Also
in order to be a good dancer you need your body to be in
prime condition and shape and that in itself means a lot
of hard work and sacrifice.
If you want to treat dance
simply as a means to get fit and stay toned while you
learn to look good on the dance floor, then it is not as
demanding. Dancing simply to stay in shape is a great
idea but you have to select a class which makes the dance
a fun-filled routine.
|